Dodgers’ Matt Kemp out for playoffs with ankle injury

“It is a pretty bad sign when you have to pull out the crutches,” Kemp said, his voice trailing.

And it wasn’t.

Not by a long shot.

Two days of uncertainty with his ailing left ankle finally gave way to the cruel reality his season is officially over.

Done in by continued discomfort and tightness and the ugly images of an MRI that revealed swelling in the bone area that leaves his ankle so unstable it’s vulnerable to a complete break if he pushes the matter any further.

So the Dodgers pulled the plug on Kemp before he could do any further damage, and now they limp to Atlanta to open the National League Divisional playoffs without one of the best players in the game.

So how’s your postseason going?

Even with all of Kemp’s struggles this year — the constant hamstring, ankle and shoulder injuries that limited him to 73 games, a .270 batting average, six home runs and 33 RBI — his mere presence affects the way opponents attack the Dodgers, and in turn that has a positive effect on the teammates around him.

One month of a productive Kemp could have been the difference between the Dodgers winning the World Series or not.

One clutch base hit, one leaping catch at the wall, one mighty home-run swing could have altered a game or a series and swept all of the misery Kemp’s gone through this year away for good.

And what a tradeoff it would have been. A regular season filled with individual disappointment and anguish capped off by a magical October?

Who wouldn’t agree to that?

As recently as two days ago, Kemp genuinely believed he might be signing up for that possibility.

But just as he was about to sign, he discovered the pen ran out of ink.

Just one more cruel joke in his season from hell.

“My season is done,” a subdued Kemp told reporters Sunday.

The harsh news was delivered to Kemp shortly after he underwent the MRI test during the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Rockies.

“To sum it up, if I go out there my ankle can break,” Kemp said. “I don’t want that. It could be something that could turn out to be really bad for my career and they’re protecting me from anything bad happening.”

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And so this bizarre year continues for him.

On one hand his team has soared to spectacular heights.

On the other, he’s played a minimal role in the climb as he’s dealt with the demons of injury and misfortune.

“It’s like a bad nightmare,” Kemp said. “Injury after injury after injury.”

But this was the harshest one of all.

“It’s weird to me, I’m playing and everything felt good. And I didn’t twist my ankle or anything during the game,” Kemp said “It’s just crazy.”

It was a stunning turn of events given Kemp felt as good as he has all year as recently as three days ago.

“I was excited,” Kemp said. “I felt good at the plate. I was having good at-bats. I was getting what swag back that guys need to perform.”

But he woke up Saturday morning after playing all nine innings the night before to discover his ankle had tightened up. The little bit of walking he did during the day loosened it up a bit, but by the time he got to the ballpark it felt tight and sore.

Five minutes before the first pitch Saturday, the Dodgers pulled him from the lineup. Sunday morning they said they were sitting him again for precautionary reasons.

Then came the MRI report.

Followed by the bitter news.

“I can’t play,” Kemp said.

So now the Dodgers move on without him, the loss made less painful given they’ve played most of the season without him.

And to be honest, they’ve played better without him than with him.

“Without saying this in a bad way, we’ve played all year long without Matt. We went 42-8 without Matt,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “We’re capable of winning, and nobody’s gonna roll over acting like something’s wrong now.”

Perhaps, but the reality is the Dodgers are a better team playing with a full deck rather than shorthanded. And while losing the Kemp of 2013 is nowhere near the catastrophe than losing the 2011 Kemp would have been, when you throw in the fact Andre Ethier is severely limited with his own left ankle sprain — and might not be well enough to open the first round of the playoffs against the Braves — the domino effect begins to take its toll.

“If you don’t have Matt and you don’t have Andre you’re not as good as you can be,” Mattingly conceded.

They can’t do anything about that now.

It’s onward to Atlanta.

“I don’t think anyone in that room is willing to give this up because Matt is hurt,” Mattingly said.